Canada’s electronic logging device (ELD) mandate is effective for all federally regulated carriers starting on the June 12, 2021 deadline. The Canadian mandate closely follows the U.S. rules and operability requirements, but each mandate has unique variations that drivers and carriers across both countries must be aware of to remain productive and profitable.
No Worries, We've Got You Covered: Pedigree Technologies' OneView is preparing to have our ELD system ready and fully compliant for the Canadian ELD mandate starting on June, 12, 2021.
Here are 5 notable differences in Canada’s regulations that might not be familiar with yet:
FMCSA regulations require ELD providers to self-certify their solution but Canada requires third-party certification. This means ELD providers must not only invest in changes to meet these new requirements but also pay an expensive fee ($50,000+) to an independent certification facility for each hardware variant. See section 79, Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations.
Canadian regulations require carriers to send detailed log reports in PDF format and for a longer period of time (14 days vs. 8 days in the US). And at inspection, drivers will transfer logs directly to officers not to a centralized database (i.e., U.S. eRODs system). See sections 4.3.2.4 and 4.8.2.1, CCMTA Technical Std.
The Canadian ELD mandate will require suppliers to measure 75 km (~47Mi.) of personal conveyance within 24 hours, compared to the U.S. who does not have any time or distance restrictions. If a driver exceeds 75 km within 24 hours, their status will automatically change from “Personal Conveyance” to “Driving.” In addition, the Canadian regulations allow drivers to defer off-duty time to the following day. See Amendment 3, Regulations Amending the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations and sections 4.3.2.2.2 and 4.3.2.2.3, CCMTA Technical Std.
Both country’s regulations require a visual indicator for drivers, for instance, if the ELD system malfunctions or there's an unidentified driver.
In the FMCSA's regulations, 4.6.2 'ELD Malfunction Status Indicator' and 4.6.2.1 'Visual Malfunction Indicator' state that there must be some clear and recognizable way to communicate malfunctions to the driver. Further, 4.1.5 (b) 1 under 'Non-Authenticated Operation' dictates that there must be "a visual or visual and audible warning" telling any unidentified driver/operator not currently logged in that they must log in. In Canada, however, the carrier must keep records of malfunctions which is not a U.S. requirement. See section 78 (paragraph 6) of "Amendments, Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations".
ELD must be capable of notifying the driver at least 30 minutes in advance of reaching any duty-/driving-hour limitation. See section 4.6.4, CCMTA Technical Std.